Swiss fund, ADB, India bank in pact

The Swiss fund, which entered India about eight months ago, hopes to have cumulatively invested $50 million by the end of March.

Swiss Investment Fund For Emerging Markets has teamed up with Asian Development Bank and an Indian state-owned bank to launch a new private equity fund next month, Managing Director Claude Barras said on Thursday.

The BTS Private Equity Fund, in which the Swiss fund has invested about $12.5 million, would typically invest $3-5 million in each Indian company in its portfolio, Barras said.

"There are a few investors in the BTS Fund along with the Indian bank, whose name cannot be disclosed now," he said.

The Swiss fund, which entered India about eight months ago, hopes to have cumulatively invested $50 million by the end of March, he said.

That includes $10 million already invested in Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation Ltd and $21 million in Swiss Tech Venture Capital Fund, he said.

"Our target is to scale it up to $75 million by December," he said.

In India, the company was keen to invest in manufacturing, health care, information technology and life sciences, he said.

The Swiss Fund, which has a global portfolio of $200 million, was looking to exit some of its investments in India, he said, but did not give further details.